Muslim patrols could become 'more dangerous' in Britain, anti-extremist group warns

London, Jan. 30 (ANI): Muslim patrols stalking streets in Britain could become 'a lot more dangerous' and perhaps even lead to maiming or killing, the head of an anti-extremism organisation has warned.

As British jihadists venture abroad to capitalize on the aftermath of the Arab Spring and then return to the UK, they are likely to bring a greater level of violence back home, Maajid Nawaz, the chairman of the Quilliam Foundation, suggested.

According to the Telegraph, his comments follow incidents in which groups of Muslim vigilantes, dubbing themselves 'Muslim Patrols' have approached Londoners and demanded they behave in an Islamic way by not drinking.

They have also told women to put more clothes on claiming they are entering 'Muslim areas'.

Nawaz said that their actions could be 'a sign of things to come' and are part of a pattern of extremism spreading across Europe in different forms, be it far right fascism or Islamism, the report said.

Writing in The Times, he said that 'Syria, Libya, Mali and Somalia are being ravaged by jihadist outfits, and all of them are attracting European-born Islamists seeking the thrill of real combat'.

According to the report, five people, including two teenagers, were arrested in London this month after a group calling itself the Muslim Patrol posted footage on YouTube showing a gang abusing a homosexual man and described white women as 'naked animals with no self-respect'.

Nawaz added that their alleged offences could be just the tip of the iceberg.

He wrote that 'the Muslim patrols could become a lot more dangerous and, perhaps willing to maim or kill if they are joined by battle-hardened jihadis'.

He compared the Islamist vigilantes to extremists like the far-right Golden Dawn supporters in Greece and right-wing vigilantes in France who ran Roma families out of a Marseilles estate and burnt down their camp, the report said.

He noted that countries such as Denmark and Spain have also seen Islamist extremists trying to enforce their own sharia law, the report added. (ANI)